Local Communities Services Champions

Photo caption (left to right): Cllr. John Fort representing Pateley Bridge on North Yorkshire County Council; Mike Clayton, Regional Advisor from Pub is The Hub; Beverley Maybury, Assistant Director for Adult Social Care Operations at North Yorkshire County Council; John Longden, Chief Executive of Pub is The Hub, Sharon Jones; Regional Advisor from the Big Lottery Fund and David Hawksworth, owner and operator of the Fox and Hounds in Bullamoor.

The Pub is The Hub Local Community Services Champions

This project aims to support pubs that are at the heart of their communities, and to benefit local people through the provision of essential community services and facilities, which in turn may help pubs to become more sustainable and link with local suppliers. Good licensees can make a very valuable positive contribution to their local communities,and become an inspired central provider of everyday essential services and facilities in rural areas.

How to get involved

What is a Local Community Services Champion?

A Local Community Services Champion is a licensee, who understands the wider impact of their pub business and wants to work with and help improve the services provided to the local community, and whose pub can help to meet local priorities, recognising that providing social and environmental benefits may help the long term financial returns of the pub.

What are the benefits of getting involved?

Developing essential pub-based services and facilities has a positive effect on the pub's perception by the local community, customers, and suppliers.

Working closely with the local community will help to strengthen the important community support role of by the pub. Establishing and providing community services and facilities is a time commitment, but it can also be very rewarding and a way to put something back into the local community to meet the needs of customers.

Developing or improving services for the local community, will improve community relations and may generate valuable publicity for the pub.

Building a positive image of the pub gives something back to the community and can help to build up a loyal, local customer base all year round, and support local suppliers.

What are the next steps?

In each area, the local Pub is The Hub adviser works closely to develop a partnership approach, and identify the new services and facilities required.
A local workshop involving licensees and interested parties starts off the process, to facilitate the identification of service priorities, and match these with potential pubs in each area.
Where service priorities have been identified, pubs have the capacity, and licensees have the willingness and capability to diversify, then the Local Community Services Champions programme will facilitate the process of delivering improvements to services and facilities in each priority area.
The adviser will help to ensure that the design and delivery of services can be integrated into the physical environment and business model of your pub, and meet the needs of the local community.

How do I get involved?

If you are a licensee of a pub in a rural area and you feel that you may be able to provide some community services or facilities, please get in touch with us by phone or email and we will arrange for a local adviser to contact you (our advice is free of charge)